As an instructor, I have a love/hate relationship with selfie yoga photos. I love the inspiration that we can glean from others photos; getting ideas for our practice or new friends for support is great. But what I dislike is the way that yoga is represented in many of these photos. Is it making yoga feel too exclusive or intimidating? Are we portraying an art form or just snapping crappy photos to show-off? Is some of it over-sexualized? (That's hilariously rhetorical.)
Whether you're a beginner or have been mindfully practicing yoga for years, we all need to keep our wide, diverse audience in mind; they're developing opinions about yoga, creating new goals or trying new poses. Though it's up to any practitioner to monitor their body in any pose, we (as selfie-posters) still have a responsibility to express our passion in a fitting way, not always a flawless, unrealistic reality. Balance your humdinger photos with peaceful, basic asanas.
Once you've come to grips with the idea of even sharing a yoga self-portrait, consider the Instagram "yoga challenges." Each day, the host of the challenge shares a pose for followers to mimic and share their versions. Often, winners are chosen at the end. (Sometimes, the word 'challenge' is just an unimaginative synonym for the word, 'competition.') Though these can be a great way to get yogis motivated for daily practice, they also can be a perfect way to encourage mindless, ego-driven practice....a recipe for disaster and injury.
That all being said, you'll find lots of yoga photos on my iPhone, here on the blog and some on my Instagram feed, even though I still dislike the idea of selfies. This blogger explained it well:
"Yes, there are some beautiful people performing near perfect poses, but more often than not, these are people who love yoga and want to share their passion. There are teachers who now have a new outlet to teach and can break down a pose in both words and photos. Photography is also a very powerful tool. It allows me to see myself in a pose, to pinpoint the areas that I need to work on and, most importantly, to document progress."
Yoga selfies are a great way to show steps-by-step instruction |
If you're not sure about it or you've never tried it, maybe download a timer app and try your own yoga selfie or two. You certainly don't need to share or post any of the photos, but it's exciting to see such simple beauty through yourself in any yoga posture. If you're worried about doing the pose "wrong" or not looking good enough, it's also an excellent platform to step out of your comfort zone. :) What are your thoughts?
I just found your blog and really love the post and it gave me a lot to think about. Yes I guess that yoga is supposed to be a personal journey and you should not compare yourself with others but seeing the pictures could not only help the person posting but could help others to learn about poses and about how you can develop your yoga over time. If you were not supposed to share and to teach your yoga then we would never have learnt about it because if this is showing off then someone might have once thought the same about classes. All that matters is how you personally approach it and nothing else :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Natalie! Great thoughts on learning and teaching! <3 Namaste!
ReplyDeleteI think you described it best when saying this is a love-hate relationship! I have never taken a yoga selfie, and more often than not, seeing yoga self-portraits brings out my competitive side -- I instantly compare myself to the person in the photo, their pose and their (seemingly) perfect form. And often, this makes me feel a little discouraged about my own practice and experience level.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip-side, however, in the few instances where I have accomplished a pose I initially found challenging, or spent time working on, I have felt tempted to snap a pic, in order to share my accomplishment and love of yoga with a wider audience! So, it definitely goes both ways.
But, even when I see a yoga selfie that makes me feel a little more envy than inspiration, I know that my practice has given me the mindfulness and sense of self necessary to acknowledge these feelings while not succumbing to them. So everything comes full circle!
Awesome insight, Jackie, thanks for sharing! :) And I agree; I think the main danger with yoga selfies is to the newbies who may not yet have this insight and perspective. But I for one, would LOVE for you to share your own accomplishments via Instagram sometime! #wholehearter
ReplyDeleteI personally don't get the "love-hate" thing because I'm not really a competitive person, but I wish more beginners would share their pictures so that it's not all these uber-flexible advanced yoga people! I love seeing all types of poses. Maybe I should start posting more of my Balasanas. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Michelle, I think that sounds like a great idea! Basic poses like Child's are wildly under-represented because people don't think they're good enough to share. But just make it about whatever you want! Remembering how the pose felt, documenting your personal progress or trying unique angles or interesting locations. <3
DeleteOK, first of all, your selfies are AMAZING, just gotta say!!! lol I don't find anything wrong with taking self yoga pics...if people feel intimidated or jealous, that's stuff they need to work on anyway, even if you didn't post a pic!
ReplyDeleteAnd do you have any tips for that bottom pic!?? Thnx!!
Thanks for your kind words, Darcy! The bottom photo is called Eight Angle Pose and I've been working with that one for a long time. I don't know that I have any specific tips or tricks yet, but Yoga Journal has a great breakdown on it here: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2491
ReplyDeleteNamaste